FEMARA
Comments
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Scottiee...just wanted to say that maybe you should see if you can talk to your Doc before Feb. It sure would put your mind at ease, about your back pain. Sometimes a simple blood test will get you some answers. My pains always seem to travel around the body. One day it on the left, then it's on the right. I have been having a pain in the right lower back...goes around the right hip and into the groin. It's pretty persistent although some days it surprises me and is gone. I did however not wait long and called my OBGYN and wanted her to check for 'ovarian' stuff.(mind goes crazy) I felt so much better when she said 'I can't even find your ovaries'. That told me there was not a big 'Honkin' tumor on it.
I guess with the age of 64 coming up in two weeks puts me in the old category. Or shriveled........0 -
Thank you Chrissyb, sorry it took so long for my reply. Holidays
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How much calcium and vitD do need take? Is 1200 calcium and 800 vit D the normal amt.
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Linda....I am wondering if the pricing is for Femara rather than letrozole. I have always gotten my prescriptions filled at Walmart. Before Femara was generic I got it for $10 a month. After it went generic, the price returned to $568 monthly, but letrozole was $4 a month. I wanted to stay on Femara, but my insurance would only cover the generic. So, that's what I now take.....but it has always been $4 at Walmart.
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I thought the same thing (about it being Femara instead of the generic) -- but, nope -- it is Letrozole that I priced and paid for -- $300 for 44 days because I couldn't afford the $636 for 90 days. It was Letrozole selling for over $1300 (for 90 days) at CVS (in Santa Fe). And Letrozole that I just paid $18 for the same number of days at Costco (in Kansas City, with close to the same quote at Costco in Albuquerque).
Walmart (in Trinidad Colorado -- my nearest Walmart) was $1185.62 for 90 days supply.
It really makes no sense, other than the middle men are making an incredible fortune off of we cancer patients, and our insurance companies. Personally, I think it is all another part of the insurance/medical industry agrument/profit-war... but is happening at our expense.
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Update on my Letrozole experience.......been on it for about 10 months now...started with massive hair thinning and mood swings, not much else. About two months ago my hair started to grow again and also my finger nails....was so happy. Now, two months later, I am finding lots of hair on my pillow again and may finger nails are becoming brittle and breaking off, AGAIN! I have also developed muscle and bone pain in different areas..
they change from time to time....oh and some rib pain.
I can't take muscle relaxants due to other meds I am on, so my GP has me on an anti-imflammatory. It's only been four days, so was hard to tell, but today I also took claritin ,
On the recommendation from gals here, and that has helped a lot.
Someone reported that there MO said everything with these Al!s is cyclical. Perhaps this is what's going on with me. A other four years of cycles.....yikes, will I survive....lol0 -
Scottie -- wow. So sorry to hear of your complications...
I am just now at 5 weeks on Letrozole -- and so far -- so good. No side effects to report.
Think it is important to post 'NO side effects' too -- so that newcomers here don't only read the horror stories.
Anyone else here (taking it longer than relatively-newbie-me) experience NO side effects from Femara/Letrozole?
Linda
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Linda, I wish more people like you would post, but I guess the ones having no SE are all getting on with their lives. I posted really for people to be optimistic re the cyclical comment made by the MO....hoping in a couple of months I might get a break again....lol
Thank you for posting, it does give hope to others just starting.0 -
Hi,
I have been on femara for 4 months now. The first month.. no side effects. Then very quickly i started to have very debilitating joint pain and just felt awful. I spoke to my pharmasist and he said the side effects often reach there peak at 6 months and then seem to subside for many.
Well i am now going into my 5th month and i am starting to feel well again.Really well actually. I do still have some muscular pain... especially for a little while in the morning, but nothing like it was.
So hang in there... i definatly think the AI'S, for me, are doable and the benifits we get get will make it all worthwhile.
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Thought the Claritin was for Aromasin and it's generic. Femara too? Yikes, just gave it all to my Son thinking it was only for the one.
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Gal..would you explain what you just posted. LOL....it makes no sense to me, but am curious.:)
As for the Letrozol and Femara, Linda, I hope your insurance covers that huge amount, because I'd find me the nearest Costco and pay 18 bucks out of my pocket if it doesn't. It's a crime what they charge and we wonder why out insurances are so darn high.
I have S/E that go in cycles with both of these drugs. I'm on the generic now and it didn't make a difference one way or the other. I figure my hair and eyebrows will continue to be sparse till I'm off of the stuff. When I look at the couple month I have left on them and back at the almost 5 years of agony that they cause...I have to say I'm glad I had the security blanket for the time being. It beats a recurrence and I know you all will agree. You'll look back and ask 'where did the time go'. Everything is doable in BC, because I don't like the alternative at all.
Gentle hugs, Artsee
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Artsee....I liked what you said as it puts it in perspective...even with all my issues
that's my philosophy also.0 -
Artsee -- my insurance covers NO medicines -- so that is why I was freaking out. I had to pay that first 44-days worth out of my own (dwindling) cash -- at $300! But now I can get it at Costco for $18 -- and you can bet your sweet bippy I won't be going to Sams' Club or CVS or any of those other rip-off pharmacies again!
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I have been on letrazole for 8 mos now. After I figured out that I can't take letrazole and levaquin together, because they both pull fluid out of the joints. I started taking glucosamine twice a day to help put fluid back in the joints.
Scottie- I too am seeing the hair thinning at this time. I have noticed more of it when I wash my hair or brush my hair. It's pretty depressing to see how much hair I've lost since being on the medication. But if that is the worst SE I've had then I'm really not going to complain about it.
Hope everyone is having a good day.
christy
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I have been on Femara/Letrozole for 4 and 1/4 years, at first had a few issues but also had some arthritis so that was affecting my joints and the only other issue is that a couple of months ago my hair stopped growing, I have very thick hair and it didn't thin out it plain old stopped growing but only at the front, weird eh, I had 3 haircuts where my hairdresser didn't cut the front at all and then it just started growing again, go figure.....
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oh heck, was I mixing up my topic threads? LOL sorry about that!
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I have had some joint problems (torn rotator cuff, frozen shoulder) that are probably NOT related to letrozole. All my other joints have been just fine. I've been on it for a full year now.
I've had a lot of fatigue in the past year, but that seems to be fading (FINALLY!!!), so I don't think I can blame that on the letrozole.I'm on an HSA plan, so at the start of the year I pay 100% drug costs. My refill this week was $29.27. But in the small print, it says "Your insurance benefit saved you $1,180.42!!!" That is an enormous amount of money for a generic drug!! It reaffirms my believe that those of us lucky enough to be on big group plans (I'm on my husband's insurance through his job) are subsidizing everyone else (like me, two years ago, when I had an individual plan).
Of course the biggest group of all would be *everyone*...but don't get me started on that!
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I can't believe the amount that you girls pay for Femara and the generics. Here in Australia the full cost is $142.50 and be because the Government has it on the PBS ( Government Subsidy) and I am a pensioner, I pay $5.70 per month. If I weren't a pensioner my payment would be $33.60 p/m. All that aside, the base cost between here and there is over a thousand dollars and right now, our dollars are almost on parity. It sounds like the drug companies can charge whatever they choose to the detriment of the American person.
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I pay $10.16 for Letrozole at the local Costco.
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Lol Linda....I figured it must of been the wrong thread.
Well, all these different prices on the same drugs....gotta be your insurance plans. I remember the days when my insurance didn't pick up $200.00 +. That was a lot of money for us to pay so $18.00 looks pretty darn good to me now. Glad I won't have to worry about it anymore come May.
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I don't have insurance.
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Artsee: Nope -- the price variance has nothing to do with our varying insurance plans. My insurance pays nothing for meds. So all those prices I listed (some over $1300 down to Costco at $18) were all for 90 days supply -- with no insurance happening at all.
Cfdr: I am convinced that the drug companies and middle men are simply ripping us off BIG TIME -- and that the thing about ""Your insurance benefit saved you $1,180.42!!!" is just the insurance companies refusing to pay the exorbidant inflated prices. Those of us without insurance -- are screwed. Thank God for Costco.
"It reaffirms my believe that those of us lucky enough to be on big group plans (I'm on my husband's insurance through his job) are subsidizing everyone else" --- ???? I don't get this -- your big group plan is REFUSING to pay the inflated prices -- so it is actually those of us without insurance coverage for meds who are subsidizing... what? Not you with insurance, and not other poor people without $$ to pay for these meds ... but looks like we are subsidizing Golf and fancy vacations and summer homes for the owners of Walmart, Walgreens, Sams Club ... oh -- wait a minute -- they are all owned by the same Walton family, four of whom are on the list of the richest 10 Americans -- yet who pays their employees such crap wages that most full-time Walmart employees still qualify for medicaid... Oh -- this is different rant... But perhaps the reason 4 of them are on the top-10 richest list is this blatant rip-off over meds! Not to leave anyone out -- also the owners of CVS should be ashamed for this inflation!
Linda
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As an outpatient medication, I pay $8/mo for a 30 day supply at the VA. When I'm an inpatient, I pay nothing. One of the perks of having served in the Military. Yes, it is filed against my insurance too.
I've been fighting to have my very early dx'd Fibrocystic Breast Disease condition added to my VA ratings since it was found when I'd been in the Army for about one year. Hoping to pave the way to the BC since I'd been stationed at several installations at least one year or more that are on the EPA super list about water and chemical contaminations of known carcinongens.
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Linda, thanks for catching that...I had said exactly the opposite of what I meant. I'm blaming chemo brain!
What I meant to say was that the self-insured subsidize the discounts that the big groups get. When I was self-insured I paid more, but got less. And I was on the same company (Blue Cross Blue Shield) that I am now.
Also, the pharma companies can charge more to Americans because they negotiate separately for each insurance company and each plan. So in other countries (like Australia, as Chrissy mentioned) governments are able to negotiate lower prices overall. So in a sense everyone here in the U.S. is subsidizing what people pay in other countries.
A number of years ago, I took my mother to the ER for something. When she got the bill, there was a charge of several hundred dollars for "wound management". The only thing I could think of that could relate was that she scratched her arm while she was there. Maybe they put a band-aid on it. A friend of mine who works in a hospital asked if my mom had good insurance. Yes, she was on medicare and also had a supplemental policy. My friend said it is common for hospitals, especially ERs, to jack up the charges on patients who have good insurance in order to subsidize the care of the uninsured.
What a crazy system!
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Wow I'm pretty lucky when it comes to my prescription. I pay 2.00 for a 30 day supply or 5.00 for a 90 day supply. I won't complain about it anymore.
I hope everyone is doing well. I have started working out again and have found that with me adding glucosamine and ibuprofen to my daily pill regimen I'm doing good. Before I couldn't last 2 mins before the joint pain started. Yesterday I walked a 1/2 mile and the only pain I have right now is in my calves and that's just because I haven't worked out in forever. For those of you having pain are you taking glucosamine to add back in the fluid that femara sucks dry??0 -
I have only been on Letrozole for 5-6 weeks now -- and still no side effects (at least yet) - Yay!
I DO take glucosamine twice a day (already did) -- so I am wondering if perhaps that is helping and I don't even know it. Whatever, though -- I love riding the 'no-side-effects-train' so far!
Saw the onc today and she said my bloodwork all looks fine -- so I won't see her for another 90 days, unless some SE pops up. (Positively thinking here... I will be one of the ones for whom Letrozole is a perfect fit!
Linda
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Hi all,
I've been on Letrozole for 5 weeks now, and no side effects to speak of. No hair thinning and hope that remains that way. I do have a question for Letrozole users.
My results from blood work from my oncol. recently did show high liver enzeyme levels, both in AST(SGOT) & ALT (SGPT). Anyone/s experience this in initial or now from taking Letrozole? I keep all blood test reports from past and this has never been high, until now. I did read that Letrozole can elevate blood liver levels? Input please?
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naturegirl2 -- I have been on Letrozole for 6 weeks now, and just had my first bloodwork done, too. I was pleased to hear that everything is in the normal ranges, and happy to report to my onc that I am not experiencing any side effects.
I am sure women with higher liver numbers will be coming on to answer your exact question -- (which I can't) -- but I thought this might help... it is a source for extremely high-quality natural vitamins and supplements... which may help balance your numbers and your body.
I keep reading suggestions here for dealing with the SEs -- and can't help but note that I already was taking many of these supplements, and am continuing to do so -- so perhaps that helps explain my good bloodwork and lack of SEs...
I get my vitamins/supplements from Melaleuca -- a company that is extremely 'green' and uses naturally occuring (as compared to synthetic) ingredients... in combinations that allow for best apsorption.
You order direct (via computer) and your order is shipped direct to you each month.
They have lots of other great products too (like laundry soaps, beauty/bath supplies, healthy foods) and all is based on word-of-mouth and highly-concentrated green products that re-use the plastic bottles (you add water to the concentrates, and so aren't paying for water!). And, since it is a referral-based company, you can earn commissions for telling others about the great products... and build a part-time side-business based on just telling your friends and family about high-quality products that everyone buys anyway!
Anyone interested can go to Melaleuca.com to peruse what they have -- I take the "Vitality 6" vitamins/supplements for women, plus "Replenex" (glucosamine). Also really like the concentrated dishwasher and laundry detergent, the face cream, shampoo, Melaleuca tea-tree oil (for burns and rashes) and their laundry pre-spot.
If you like what you see, please feel free to PM me for more info on how to get discounts.
Good luck!
Linda
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Naturegirk- yes my liver enzymes started going up month two of taking femara. Unfortunately it is one of the SE's of femara. I go in in 2 wks for another set of labs and if it comes back high again I get to have an MRI of the liver to see if there is anything else going on. Keep an eye on your labs and make sure your ONC does too.
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